Corner structure for lining walls and other surfaces



T. MURPHY Aug. 20, 1968 CORNER STRUCTURE FOR LINING WALLS AND OTHER SURFACES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 13, 1964 Aug. 20, 1968 T. MURPHY 3,397,498

CORNER STRUCTURE FOR LINING WALLS AND OTHER SURFACES Filed Feb. 13, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [W1 3i i I 6 Inventor a (I (1 .4140 6 a J 9 b 6 6 1 a 0 77Marm MVAPHV YJW d M Attorney United States Patent 3,397,498 CORNER STRUCTURE FOR LINING WALLS AND OTHER SURFACES Timothy Murphy, Woodgrove, Cross Douglas Road, County Cork, Ireland Filed Feb. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 344,755 Claims priority, appliclation Ireland, Feb. 18, 1963, 26/63 3 Claims. (Cl. 52-385) This invention concerns a method for lining walls and other surfaces which consists in providing a number of sheet-like surface lining elements comprising surface units assembled on a sheet of material forming a base, said units being disposed contiguously so that the surface of the base is substantially covered by units except for the fact that at isolated places surface units are omitted so that spaces are left into which said units may be subsequently fitted, the assembled surface units being secured to the base by adhesive while leaving said isolated places uncovered by surface units, subsequently applying said surface elements to the surface to be lined and securing same in position thereon by the aid of fastening means inserted through the base material at the uncovered places aforesaid, and finally covering said uncovered places by fitting surface units into the spaces left to receive same and securing said units therein by adhesive or the like. An additional sheet of material is provided at the back of the base as a thermal or other insulation; expanded polystyrene which is well known as an insulator, is particularly suitable for this purpose.

The present invention has particularly in view the problem of applying a surface lining to building features such as buttresses, pillars, cornices and the like which are not fiat, but comprise two or more surfaces meeting at an angle or angles. The problem is effectively solved according to the invention by first constructing a casing conforming to the shape of the two or more surfaces to be lined, thus providing a base for the surface lining units, applying surface lining units to one side of said base and securing them thereto by means of adhesive, the units being contiguous except for the fact that isolated units are omitted so that uncovered spaces are left into which units may subsequently be fitted, applying a layer of insulating cushioning material to the other side of said base, applying the casing to the surfaces to be lined, securing the casing to said surfaces by the aid of fastening means inserted through the uncovered spaces, and finally covering said spaces by placing surface units thereover and securing same in position by adhesive or the like.

For lining the base or casing a layer of yieldable material, such for example as expanded polystyrene is employed, as this not only has sound and heat insulating properties, but is adapted to serve as a compressible padding enabling the casing to be fitted very snugly to the surfaces to be covered, any irregularities of the surfaces being accommodated by the padding. A firm foundation is thereby provided throughout and there is no risk of distorting the casing when the fastening means are applied.

In order that the invention may be readily understood it is hereinafter described more fully by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lining element constructed to fit a buttress (also shown) in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 is an elevation showing the lining element applied to the buttress,

FIG. 3 is a plan in cross-section on line IIIIII of FIG. 2 to an enlarged scale,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 in which the lining element is applied to a pillar,

FIG. 5 is a cross-section corresponding to line VV of FIG. 2 showing a detail to an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a buttress 1, the surface of which it is required to be lined with tiles, mosaic or the like. A casing or base 2 is first constructed and comprises three sheets 3 of chipboard or other substantially rigid material, e.g., asbestos-cement sheet, cut and shaped to the dimensions of the exposed surfaces of the buttress 1 of a wall 4 so as to fit loosely over the buttress 1. The sheets 3 are firmly secured together by the aid of metal or plastic angle brackets 5 which are advantageously inset into the material of the sheets 3. The interior of the casing is then lined with a layer 6 of expanded polystyrene which is secured to the interior of the casing in a permanent manner by means of an adhesive. The layer 6 is preferably of the order of inch in thickness and serves not only to provide thermal and sound insulation and resistance to dampness, but being also somewhat compressible it serves as a cushion as hereinafter described.

The surface lining units 7, which may be tiles, mosaic elements or the like, are then secured to the exterior of the casing by an adhesive, the units 7 being substantially contiguous except for the fact that isolated units are omitted so that uncovered spaces 8 are left into which surface units may subsequently be fitted. It will be noted that the spaces 8 are not immediately adjacent to the corners or edges of the base 2. They may conveniently be provided by initially entirely covering the surface of the casing 2 with units 7 and, before the adhesive has set, removing individual units 7 at the selected places where a space 8 is desired, and cleaning the adhesive from the exposed surface of the base. Alternatively the places where the spaces 8 are required may be covered upon the base by removable slips of paper or plastic film which may be peeled ofi? after the adhesive has been applied generally to the surface of the base, thereby leaving areas on which there is no adhesive and to which the tiles or other units will not adhere when laid upon the prepared surface of base 2.

By substantially contiguous is meant that the units 7 need not be in actual contact with each other along adjacent sides, but are preferably very slightly separated, the gap between them being of the order of to inch. When the units are tiles, the appropriate regular spacing of the tiles may be assured by providing slight protuberances projecting about inch on the edges of the tiles in the course of their manufacture. They may then be laid with the protuberances of adjacent tiles in contact with each other, the remaining portions of the edges of adjacent tiles being thereby spaced apart V inch. This gap is just sufiicient to receive a grout which completes the setting of the units and gives the surface the conventional finished appearance of a tiled or mosaic surface. The grout may be applied by brushing the grouting material in the form of a thick cream over the surface of the units 7 and into the interstices therebewteen, or the adhesive which covers the base 2 may itself provide the grout if it is of suitable consistency and is thickly applied so that when the units 7 are pressed down upon the base 2, for example, by the aid of a squeegee, the grout is forced into the interstices between the units.

The corners of the casing 2 may be protected by angle shaped units 7a which may be the same thickness as the units 7 which cover the remainder of the casing 2, or they may be somewhat thicker, in which latter case the corner portions of the casing may be rabetted if desired to allow for this increase in thickness and to preserve the alignment of the exposed surfaces of the elements. The casing thus prepared may then be supplied to the buttress 1, the three exposed surfaces of which it fits snugly, the screws or plugs 9 are inserted through the uncovered spaces 6 and driven into the material of the buttress, thereby securing the casing permanently in position over the buttress, the heads of the screws or plugs being countersunk into the base 2 as shown more clearly in FIG. 5. The spaces 8 are then closed by applying adhesive to each of the spaces 8 and then bedding a surface unit thereon to fill the space 8. When the surface lining elements are thus secured in position the layer 6, which is tightly compressed between the base 2 and the underlying surface of the buttress 1, also has a resilient or shock-absorbing effect which adds to the durability or permanence of the surface lining as a whole.

Where a buttress adjoins a wall the surface of which is also similarly lined with surface lining elements the casing 2 and surface units 7 may be joined with the adjacent parts of the wall lining, for example, with the aid of internal angle-pieces 7b as is shown in FIG. 3. For this purpose the marginal portions 12 of the troughshaped casing 2 may be left uncovered, as is shown in FIG. 1.

When it is desired to apply the present improvements to a pillar 10 the surface of which requires to be lined on all four sides, a procedure similar to that described above for a buttress may be employed. After the trough shaped casing is applied to the pillar 10 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the open side is closed by a plane surface element 11 (see FIG. 4) of the desired dimensions, the plane surface element being substantially covered by surface units 15, these units being contiguous except that at isolated places units are omitted for the purpose described above. The marginal portions of the plane surface elements, as also the adjacent marginal portions of the trough shaped casing 2 are left uncovered so that when the plane element 11 is fixed to the pillar 10 as shown in FIG. 4, angle shaped surface units 7a may be applied to the corners formed at the joints between the marginal edges of the plane element and the marginal portions of the trough-shaped casing. If desired the casing 2 and the closing element 11 may be secured together along one edge by hinges 15 before the casing is affixed to the pillar. This ensures that the casing and cover element cannot become separated or misaligned after leaving the factory where they are prepared.

The angle-shaped units 7a of all the corners of the casing 2 may be omitted until after the casing 2 has been fixed in position upon the buttress, pillar or the like to be covered, and the units 7a may then be placed in position and secured by adhesive. This presents little difficulty since a series of the units 7a may be prepared in strip form by mounting them upon a paper or similar easily destructable carrier pasted to the surface, which carrier can be washed off and removed after the units have been applied to the base 2, in accordance with well known mosaic tiling practice. Alternatively instead of employing angle-shaped units 711 at the corners of the casing 2, the tiles or other units 7 may extend completely to the corners of the casing 2, the edges of the units which meet at the corners being rounded.

It will be understood that the casings of the lining elements prepared for application to buttresses or pillars may be of any convenient length. It may be necessary to employ a plurality of such casings placed one above the other in order completely to cover the surface of the buttress or pillar in question.

I claim:

1. Means for lining adjacent wall surfaces which meet at an angle comprising a plurality of sheets of substantially rigid material secured together in angularly disposed relation conforming to said adjacent wall surfaces, said sheets having a layer of yieldable material on one side and on the other side a multiplicity of surface lining units secured thereto by. adhesive in substantially contiguous arrangement but isolated areas thereof being left uncovered, said sheets having exposed rear surfaces consisting of the surfaces of said yieldable material which are opposite said rigid material.

2. Means for lining three adjacent wall surfaces each disposed at an angle to the adjoining surface, comprising a trough-shaped casing of substantially rigid sheet material conforming to the contour of said surfaces and lined with a layer of yieldable material and having a multiplicity of surface lining units secured by adhesive to its exterior surface in substantially contiguous arrangement but isolated areas thereof being left uncovered, said casing having exposed rear surfaces consisting of the surfaces of said yieldable material which are opposite said rigid material.

3. A trough-shaped casing comprising sheets of substantially rigid material secured together, lined with a layer of yieldable insulating thermoplastic material and having the exterior of the casing covered with surface lining elements secured thereto by adhesive, except that at isolated places surface units are omitted, said sheets having exposed rear surfaces consisting of the surfaces of said yieldable material which are opposite said rigid material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 558,300 4/1896 Nichols 52384 1,440,967 1/1923 Carpenter et al 52389 2,114,474 4/1938 Labr-a 52-385 2,336,235 12/ 1943 Fischer 52593 3,000,144 9/1961 Kitson 52309 FOREIGN PATENTS 910,156 11/1962 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Architectural Record, April, 1956; p. 265, vol. 119, No. 4.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

JAMES L. RIDGILL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. MEANS FOR LINING ADJACENT WALL SURFACES WHICH MEET AT AN ANGLE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SHEETS OF SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID MATERIAL SECURED TOGETHER IN ANGULARLY DISPOSED RELATION CONFORMING TO SAID ADJACENT WALL SURFACES, SAID SHEETS HAVING A LAYER OF YIELDABLE MATERIAL ON ONE SIDE AND ON THE OTHER SIDE A MULTIPLICITY OF SURFACE LINING UNITS SECURED THERETO BY ADHESIVE IN SUBSTANTIALLY CONTIGUOUS ARRANGEMENT BUT ISOLATED AREAS THEREOF BEING LEFT UNCOVERED, SAID SHEETS HAVING EXPOSED REAR SURFACES CONSISTING OF THE SURFACES OF SAID YIELDABLE MATERIAL WHICH ARE OPPOSITE SAID RIGID MATERIAL. 